God Created Man As Useful, Beautiful

June 25, 1999|DAVID THOMAS

`Wow, What a beautiful place!"

Those were the words my wife said to me when we came to South Florida to interview with Calvary Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Davie to determine if God was leading us to come here to pastor this congregation. It seemed strange that so many people told us how beautiful they thought the state from which we were moving -- North Carolina -- was. I guess, after you live somewhere for any length of time you take for granted the beauty of that place.

Everyone enjoys beauty, God made us that way. Psalm 149:4 says, "The Lord takes delight in his people, he will beautify the meek with salvation."

God desires two things from his people. He wants them to be useful and he wants them to be beautiful. Not outward beauty, but inward. God has purpose and service that he intends from his own people. But, he also wants our life to be attractive, alluring and drawing to others. There ought to be a loveliness in the life of God's people that draws others to them, and so to God.

Beauty in everything

Notice the divine intention in the following verse. "He will beautify the meek with salvation." The Bible has much to say about beauty. Isaiah 61, a messianic prophecy, said Christ's coming meant he would give "beauty for ashes." The psalmist says, "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." And again, "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

There is a love of beauty we share with God. When God created, his creation was good, beautiful.

This love of beauty is in God and in us too, we were created in his likeness.

Everyone wants to be lovely and cares about how they look. Even ugly people have mirrors. We go to great lengths to look good. One man said his wife was at the beauty parlor for four hours -- and that was just for an estimate!

We see beauty in the face of a bride at a wedding; we see beauty in the face of a child; and beauty in our homes. We love beauty and desire beauty.

Sadly, there is also, a loss of beauty we see in life. Beauty can fade. It can die out of a home; out of a marriage; and out of our children. Why? Only one thing takes beauty out of life, and that is sin. Name any sin you want, there is nothing lovely about it.

Salvation in Christ

The verse goes on to show the divine provision. How will God make His people beautiful? With salvation. God's salvation is the saving, the changing of a life, that is ruined by sin. He saves that life by his salvation. This salvation is not found in a church, or a creed, or even in a cross. It is wrapped up in a person, Christ the Savior. John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

This salvation is then worked out in a process. Salvation is a new life. We don't work for this salvation, but this salvation works. It works every day in the changed life. And that work produces the beauty of God in that life.

Finally, notice the divine condition. "He will beautify the meek with salvation." The meek are those who are humble enough to admit their need of God. For only God can change man by removing the ugliness of sin. Also, those changed are those who are humble enough to submit their will to God.

Just knowing we need God is an eternity away from submitting to God. Find God. There you will find true beauty.

David Thomas is pastor of Calvary Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Davie.